Gold and green twisted in the serpentine gaze, furious, haunted, the same look he had worn for seven years, unchanged despite time and age and distance. It was an expression he had stolen from his daughter the morning her lover sent him away, but he was back, he always came back, and he was here to return it.

Robert Quistin was here for his daughter.

Since waking from a drugged sleep on an Earthbound transport, he had been desperately seeking a way to reclaim what was his. Attempts to reverse his resignation were unsuccessful, no matter how many times he tried, and no matter who he petitioned or what he paid. Even more fruitless were his requests for information-- any information-- on Katera or Terrence. It was all blocked to him; whether it was because of his retired status or because Terrence had made it so, he didn't know, but the result was much the same.

Someone else would have given up, but not Quistin. Someone else would have realized that there was nothing to be done but move on, but not Quistin. Finding Katera again became an obsession, his Holy Grail, and there was nothing he did nor no thought he had that wasn't focused on her, intent on getting her back.

They had lived in Oregon a long, long time ago, when she was first born, and he bought a house there, a house for them. With his considerable pension he went about setting up the perfect life for them to share, decorating a room for her, buying a sleek little car he thought she'd like, investing a portion of his savings in her name, so that she could live comfortably once he'd passed away. Of course, that wouldn't be for years and years, and they would have plenty of time to live together happily before he was old, but Robert liked to plan ahead. He wanted everything taken care of.

The rest of the world became slightly unreal to him; none of it mattered, anyway, because it wasn't concerned with Katera. When he wasn't busy planning the rest of their lives, he was searching for her, always seeking, always looking. He still had acquaintances in the IF, and these he used to aid him in his search. Any information he received from them was uncertain at best, but it was from these sources that he learned that they were still together, and some years later, that he was a grandfather.

A grandfather. He didn't know whether to be pleased or furious. It was Katera's child, but it bore Terrence's taint, and he wondered if the little bastard looked like her or looked like Jax.

Either way, it didn't matter. It just became another reason for him to continue in his hunt, to remain dedicated to his mission. There was even more for him to gain, now, both a daughter and a grandson, and more years passed as Robert paced on Earth, waiting for the day when he could go back to the stars.

The opportunity came in a very unexpected way.

The message was from an official IF address, and he fumbled with the keyboard in his haste to read it. It came routed through the IA, bearing a name he knew very well, and after rereading it ten or fifteen times, he typed out a succint "Yes" in his reply and hit the send key.

-It has been seven years, Captain Quistin. Does your offer still stand?-

He immediately logged onto the server of his bank, began transferring funds and liquidating the larger investments. He sold stocks and emptied savings accounts, leaving enough to tide them over until they could return and he could work again. It was a considerable sum, and once he finished he opened the message again and sent a second reply.

==A half million is my offer. Will that be sufficient?==

Five minutes later, Vaisou's answer was the same as his.

-Yes.-

And that was how it came to be that Robert Quistin made a deal with the Internal Alliance to get his daughter back again.

Now here he was, in a guest suite on the main Command Post. He stared at metal walls he hadn't seen in seven years, breathed in recycled air he hadn't tasted in just as long, and he waited. It was an effort not to immediately seek out Katera, but he had other business to attend to first, other matters to take care of before he could see her. So instead, he paced, a hand idly tracing the scar Terrence had drawn across his cheek, the scar just like Katera's, and he waited. He waited with a patience born of a lifetime of battles, but there was a nervous edge to his calm, a smug tilt to his smile, because after so long he would finally have what he wanted.

It all happened so smoothly, just as they'd planned. The room chime sounded and the door slid open to reveal Terrence. He looked the same, in Robert's eyes, just as arrogant, just as cold, just as Jax as he had been before. Robert wondered, as he had before and always would wonder, why Katera had let him live. It made no sense; but then again, it didn't have to, because Terrence didn't matter. He was an obstacle. He was an enemy. And soon, oh so soon, he would be nothing but a memory.

"What are you doing here, Quistin?" The boy asked him, and Robert smiled. His eyes lit with a happy, familiar fire, full of hate and rage and everything that made this moment so enjoyable, and his smile grew knowing and cold. "I'm here for my daughter," he said calmly. "My daughter and her son."

Terrence made to speak but Robert was too full of words, words he had bitten back and hidden and held inside for too long, and once he began to speak he couldn't stop. They tumbled from his tongue, hissing, angry, smug, and he stared into eyes that should have been black as he said it all.

"Did you think I'd really gone, boy? She killed you once, and I don't know what you did to her to break her down, but I'll do it this time. You're going back to Charybdis where you belong, you little fucking bastard, and she's coming with me. Seven years, Terrence, I've waited seven years for this, and trust me," he said with a smirk, "I doubt you'll last even one once they have you back in the labs."

Terrence said something, he yelled something, but Robert was too occupied in his taunts to listen. Instead he smiled, kept smiling, held out a hand and beckoned to the boy, and when Terrence refused, he insisted with a hand on his wrist. "Give me the ring, boy. Give it back."

Then it all happened so fast. Terrence tried to pull his arm away, and Robert hit him, to make him understand that he couldn't resist. Then he hit him again, and the boy hit him back, and then the door opened. Two IA officers leveled their pistols at him, shots were fired, and Robert rubbed the neck of his neck ruefully as tranq darts drove the boy to the ground. Bleary eyes blinked up at him, and Robert leaned over to grin into his face.

"She was always mine, Jax. You just got in the way."

"I appreciate you officers helping me out," he said jovially, straightening up to salute to the two men. "The boy was getting a little rough. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to."

He stepped over the body on the floor, sauntered through the doorway, and headed down the hall. He knew where he was going. It only took a few minutes, even at his leisurely pace, and soon enough he entered another room. A cute ensign at the front desk greeted him, and Robert gave her a friendly smile and held out his identification.